Wireless sharing of audio files and related information

ABSTRACT

A system and method are disclosed for wireless sharing of audio sounds among a plurality of users. A user of the present invention can communicate his or her audio sounds to other users, who can receive the audio sounds wirelessly and choose to rebroadcast them. Along with the audio sound files users can share information regarding the audio sounds being shared, such as title, artist, collection, genre, year, encoding rate, size, playlist, and other desired information. The user of device can opt to set the device to transmit, re-transmit, broadcast, re-broadcast, receive or not to receive play-list information in addition to the audio sound files and the information regarding the audio sounds themselves.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the field of wirelesscommunications, and more particularly to wireless communication of audioand related data among devices.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Many prior art media devices can receive radio broadcasts from suchsources such as FM, AM or satellite broadcasts. With respect toheadphones, wireless headphones receive music from media devices via avariety of methods, such as infra-red transmission, 25 mhz radio or 2.4ghz radio transmission technologies such as Bluetooth. Media devices cantransfer media files such as music and/or video files wirelessly betweenother similar media devices via similar methods. The transferring ofsuch files is usually from one storage medium to another.

Despite certain advantages of the foregoing, wired headphones and/orearbuds suffer from limitations. Some such systems allow one user toshare the music experience by passing one wired headphone or earbud to athird party. This shared experience, however, does not allow the thirdparty to experience the full stereo experience of the music. Headphoneadapter jacks exist for two wired headphones to be connected to the samemedia device but this also requires both users to be tethered close tothe same media device. Shared music by transfer of media files from onestorage medium to other storage medium often infringes upon third partyintellectual property rights.

Most prior art wireless headphones do not allow users to share musicfrom the same media device such as an MP3 player. Wireless headphonesare also limited to the range of the wireless transmitter—consequently,users using wireless headphones cannot be too far from the source. Also,general transmission techniques such as Bluetooth are generallyaccessible to anyone having the capability to receive that data.

Audio sound files (e.g., music, news broadcasts, podcasts, etc.) can ofcourse be generated by a variety of devices such as a digital mediaplayer like the iPod®, a CD player or even a radio transmittingcommercial radio broadcasts. Prior art teaching regarding sharing ofsuch audio sounds received from such devices present is limited. Adevice which emits audio sounds can have two pairs of headphonestethered to the same device. Other devices may employ a wirelesstransmission of audio sounds, e.g. for a radio station, more than oneperson can listen to the radio broadcast by tuning their radio receiverto the proper radio frequency.

Most audio sound files in the popular MP3 and AAC formats containidentification information such as an ID3 tag. This information cancontain a multitude of information including the name of the song, themusic album it comes from, the artist behind it, the genre and even theyear in which it was commercially released.

With prior art digital communications devices that communicate audiosounds, information about the audio sounds is shared in a very limitedway, if at all. Although the audio sounds may be shared in some systems,the ID3 tag (or such similar tag) is usually not. It is difficult, andoften impossible, for the recipient of the shared audio sounds toidentify the name of the song and the artist behind the song. There isalso no way of knowing what are the next song(s) and previous song(s)that are on the device's play-list, or the number of songs.

In addition, a person who is receiving the audio sound may want topurchase the same audio sounds from a retailer but is unable to do so ashe or she does not know the information behind the audio sound, e.g.title, artist, album, etc.

A person who is receiving audio sounds may also want to know more aboutthe person who or the device which is sharing the audio sounds.

In view of the foregoing, a system and method are disclosed for wirelesssharing of audio information and playlists among a plurality of users.The present invention is a method and system for enabling the sharinginformation on the following items:

(a) the information of shared audio sounds;

(b) play-lists information; and

(c) information on the device or the person using the device sharing theaudio sounds.

The invention also encompasses a method and system to capture theinformation above. Potential advantages of the present invention includeallowing users to share information where desirable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A digital audio player is presented which features wireless stereocommunication to other devices within the network. The device or systemof devices incorporates components to transmit and receive audio soundswirelessly (including by radio, Bluetooth or infra-red technologies) by:(a) having a transmitter/receiver built in (e.g., a wirelesstransmitter/receiver built into a portable computing device or a digitalmedia player); (b) having an intermediary device that is used toimplement the transmission/reception (e.g., a “dongle”transmitter/reception, or a transmitter/receiving station); (c) havingthe intermediary device that is used to implement thetransmission/reception built into the headphones (wired or wireless); or(d) using a similar device or devices to implement thetransmission/reception. The audio signal can be selectively rebroadcastto other users.

In addition, the user of the device can also opt to set the device totransmit, re-transmit, broadcast, re-broadcast, receive or not toreceive information about the audio sounds in the same manner. Theinformation on the audio sounds being shared can include informationcontained in the ID3 tag of digital audio sounds files, or in other suchsimilar places and information that may be manually inserted by the userof the device. Some of that information may include: a) the title of theaudio sound; b) the artist behind the audio sound; c) the writer of theaudio sound; c) the album/collection the audio sound comes from; d) thegenre of the audio sound; e) the year in which it was commerciallyreleased; f) the encoding rate of the audio sound if it is a digitalmedia file; g) the size of the file if it is a digital media file; andh) other information about the audio sound.

Moreover, a method and system is disclosed wherein the user of devicecan opt to set the device to transmit, re-transmit, broadcast,re-broadcast, receive or not to receive play-list information inaddition to the audio sounds and the information on the audio soundsthemselves.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other advantages of the invention will become apparentupon reading the following detailed description and upon reference tothe drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic view of a person sharing audio andrelated information in accordance with one aspect of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic view of a plurality of persons sharingaudio (and data) from a single source in accordance with one aspect ofthe present invention.

FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate other embodiments of the invention in which aplurality of rebroadcasts occur.

FIG. 5 illustrates another embodiment of the invention in which aplurality of broadcasts occur, and in which differing audio signals andrelated information may be communicated among the various devices.

While the invention is susceptible to various modifications andalternative forms, specific embodiments have been shown by way ofexample in the drawings and will be described in detail herein. Itshould be understood, however, that the invention is not intended to belimited to the particular forms disclosed. Rather, the invention is tocover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling withinthe spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

As set forth above, embodiments of the invention provide a system andmethod for wirelessly sharing an audio experience among a plurality ofusers. The system contemplates a plurality of devices, any one of whichis able to transmit to one or more other device. This allows one or moreuser of a device to receive the appropriate audio sounds from thetransmitting device, thereby creating an audio sound sharing network.Alternatively, the users of any of the receiving devices can also opt toset their device to transmit while aforementioned users of thetransmitting devices can also opt to set their devices receive.

Dedicated and Broadcast Use

As shown in FIG. 1, the user of a device 1 can opt to only transmit adedicated signal from 1 to another device 2; in this instance, device 2will be the only receiving device for 1. 2 decodes the signal from 1 toprovide the user of 2 with the appropriate/desired audio sounds. As setforth below in further detail, in a preferred embodiment, relatedinformation about the audio files is shared as well.

As used herein, the term “dedicated” is used to refer to a closednetwork, whereby only users of that network may have ready access to thedecoding and/or decrypting technology to access the communicatedsignals. A “closed network” can refer to a network that employsproprietary technology that is not directly interoperable with otherstandards-based networks, or that adds an additional layer of encodingonto standards-based networks. A “closed network” also encompasses aprivate network that can only be used by authenticated or authorizeddevices; e.g., outsider use may be prohibited and enforced throughcryptographic means. A closed network is thus distinct from an opennetwork such as Bluetooth, whereby any device that is Bluetooth-enabledmay (in the absence of proprietary encoding or encryption) receive andprocess that signal.

Encryption may be utilized to encrypt data communicated between devicesusing communication encryption hardware or software to provide a furtherlayer of security to the data communications. Encryption can be used tosecure data communications and stored information. Digitalcommunications accommodate the use of encryption. As consumers continueto move from wireline to wireless communications devices, the use ofencryption has become more important to the end user in some contexts.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a user of device 1 can opt to set 1 tobroadcast. As such, enabled third parties in the range of transmissionof 1, such as the user of a device 3 and potentially others, can opt toset their respective devices to receive from 1, or on a channel on which1 is set to transmit. 3 and others can now decode the signal from 1 toprovide the user of 3 and others with the appropriate/desired audiosounds. As shown in FIG. 3, the user of 1 can also opt to set 1 toreceive from other transmitting devices (e.g., 4) belonging to otherusers.

Rebroadcasting

The system and method of the present invention can also be used in thecontext of re-broadcasting. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, with theuser can set 11 on broadcast, the user of 12 which is receiving theaudio sounds can opt to set 12 to receive the audio sounds from 11 andto simultaneously re-broadcast the same audio sounds to other users'devices (e.g., 13, 14, etc.). Rebroadcasting may be undertaken before orafter decoding the signal; if the latter, the signal will be encodedprior to being retransmitted. The encoding may be the same as, or insome applications different from, the original encoding.

Rebroadcast thus allows user of 13 who is out of the range of 11 but inthe range of the re-broadcast of 12 to receive the appropriate audiosignals (and, as desired, related information) from 11, via 12.Likewise, if the user of 13 opts to set 13 to re-broadcast, the user of14, who is out of the range of the broadcast of 11 and the re-broadcastof 12, can opt to set 14 to receive the appropriate audio sounds from 14via 12 and 13. For all the applications above, the users of 12, 13 and14 can also set their respective devices to receive the appropriateaudio signals which are being re-broadcasted.

FIG. 5 depicts an alternative embodiment of the invention that enablesuse with the simultaneous reception and transmission/broadcast ofdifferent audio sounds. As shown in FIG. 5, the user of 21 sets 21 totransmit or broadcast a certain audio signal 25. The user of 22 can sethis device to receive the transmission/broadcast of AS1 from 21. Theuser of 22 can simultaneously opt to set 22 to transmit or broadcast adifferent audio sound 26 on a different channel which can be received byusers of 23, 24, etc, provided that they have set their respectivedevices to receive the transmission or broadcast of 26 on that channelfrom the user of 22.

Embodiments of the present invention also enable use in multi-channeltransmission or broadcast (simultaneous or otherwise). With multipleusers transmitting in a limited range, the implementation of thewireless transmission may be made in dedicated channels which users mayopt to receive either:

a) automatically via hunting and/or frequency hopping; or

b) manually by tuning to specific frequencies denoted by:

-   -   i. discrete channels denoted by numbers (e.g., Channel 1,        Channel 2, etc.);    -   ii. discrete channels denoted with colors (e.g., Red, Green,        Blue); or    -   iii. other methods consistent with those known to persons of        skill in the art.

In order to identify the mode in which a device is operating(transmitting, broadcasting, re-broadcasting or receiving), the user ofa device can opt to set either cues on his device or cues to bedisplayed/received on third parties' device to allow third parties toidentify the mode in which a device is operating. The cues could takevarious forms or combination of forms such as:

a. visual cues, including text, colored indicators or lights, which willindicate the various modes in which the device is operating; and

b. sound cues which will indicate the various modes in which the deviceis operating. Such sounds can either be heard audibly or through use ofthe device).

(e.g., 21 is set to broadcast. 21 flashes a blue light which users ofother Devices (22, 23, etc.) can see and then opt to set 22, 23, etc. toreceive 21's broadcast.)

Sharing of Related Digital Information

The user of the device can also opt to set the device to transmit,re-transmit, broadcast, re-broadcast, receive or not to receiveinformation about the audio sounds themselves, the users, or thedevices.

The information on the audio sounds being conveyed can include, but isnot limited to, information contained in the ID3 tag of digital audiosounds files or in other such similar places and information that may bemanually inserted by the user of the device. This information caninclude, though is not limited to:

a) The title of the audio sound;

b) The artist or group behind the audio sound;

c) The writer of a song;

d) The album or collection on which the audio sound can be found;

e) The genre of the audio sound;

f) The year in which it was commercially released;

g) The encoding rate of the audio sound if it is a digital media file;

h) The size of the file if it is a digital media file; and

i) Other desired information about the audio sound.

In a preferred embodiment, the user of device can opt to set the deviceto transmit, re-transmit, broadcast, re-broadcast, receive or not toreceive play-list information in addition to the audio sounds and theinformation on the audio sounds themselves. Such information containedin the play-list includes but is not limited to:

a) Information on the next audio sounds) to be played;

b) The previous audio sound(s) played;

c) The number of different audio sound(s) which will be played; and

d) Other information about the play-list.

Such information can be in a text form and users of the devices can optto view the information on an associated display.

Further, this invention also claims a method and system where therecipient of the information relating to the audio sounds and/orplay-lists can choose to capture and store the information of certainaudio sounds as well as the play-list information at his or her option.

With this saved information, the recipient may then download thisinformation to his personal computer or such other media device and theinformation of the audio sounds or play-list information which therecipient has captured will be downloaded to his computer or such othermedia device.

In on embodiment, this saved information is linked to online databases.Further information about the audio sounds or play-list information maybe obtained in this manner through indexing and retrieval of additionalinformation correlated to the originally saved data.

In a further embodiment, this device may also contain a uniqueidentifier (be it a number or text or a combination of both or someother manner to uniquely identify the device), which may also be set bythe user at his discretion.

Users of the device which transmit, re-transmit, broadcast,re-broadcast, receive or not receive audio sounds, information on theaudio sounds and/or information on play-lists will be able to detectthis unique identifier from other devices and similarly capture suchinformation on the unique identifier, thereby enabling the user toidentify the device from or to which it is sharing music and save thisinformation for later.

In addition to this unique identifier, users of the device may also optto transmit, re-transmit, broadcast, re-broadcast, receive or not toreceive text, pictures or audio sounds, or a combination of these, whichwill be inserted by the user when the device is docked or sync-ed with apersonal computer or through user inputs on the device itself.

Such captured information will be linked to a website or database(either online or not) of users of the device and with the capturedinformation, the user will be able to navigate through such the websiteor database to find out more information about the user(s) whose deviceidentifier had been captured.

The database may contain information about users of the device such as:

a) Name;

b) Address;

c) Music tastes;

d) Links to websites;

e) Photographs;

f) Blogs; and

g) other information disclosed by the user.

The advantage of this system of sharing is that in addition to creatingwireless music sharing networks, a real community of people may also befostered or built based on shared musical interests or merely byphysical proximity which enable sharing and information exchange.

The foregoing discussion focuses principally on the sharing of music andother audio. It is understood, however, that other applications willalso be useful. For example, the application could be used in a gamingenvironment, in which it is desired that a number of players share asimilar audio experience. For example, all such members may be sharing acommunications “channel” in the virtual environment. In addition, thepresent invention could be advantageously applied in the areas ofeducation and training, among others.

As noted above, while the present invention has been described withreference to one or more particular embodiments, those skilled in theart will recognize that many changes may be made thereto withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Each ofthese embodiments and obvious variations thereof is contemplated asfalling within the spirit and scope of the claimed invention, which isset forth in the following claims.

1. A system for sharing an audible experience comprising: a first audioplayback system headphones comprising: a plurality of speakers; awireless transceiver; and a first control system for said wirelesstransceiver adapted to control a transmission of a first audio signaland a first audio digital information to a second audio playback systemheadphones comprising a second wireless transceiver and a second controlsystem adapted to generate an audio playback corresponding to said firstaudio signal and display said digital audio information.
 2. The systemof claim 1, wherein said first audio digital information comprises atleast a portion of a first dataset from an ID3 tag data containeraccessible to said first control system.
 3. The system of claim 2,wherein said first audio digital information comprises a second dataset,at least some of which is not available in an ID3 tag data containeraccessible to said first control system.
 4. The system of claim 3,wherein said first audio digital information comprises a second dataset,wherein at least some of said second dataset is manually input by a userof said first audio playback system headphones.
 5. The system of claim1, wherein said first audio digital information comprises a title ofsaid first audio signal.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein said firstaudio digital information comprises an artist associated with said firstaudio signal.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein said first audio digitalinformation comprises a writer associated with said first audio signal.8. The system of claim 1, wherein said first audio digital informationcomprises a collection associated with said first audio signal.
 9. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein said first audio digital informationcomprises a genre associated with said first audio signal.
 10. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein said first audio digital informationcomprises a date associated with a commercial release of said firstaudio signal.
 11. The system of claim 1, wherein said first audiodigital information comprises an encoding rate associated with saidfirst audio signal.
 12. The system of claim 1, wherein said first audiodigital information comprises a size associated with said first audiosignal.
 13. The system of claim 1, wherein said first audio digitalinformation comprises a playlist associated with said first controlsystem.
 14. The system of claim 1, wherein said first audio digitalinformation comprises a playlist associated with said first controlsystem.
 15. The system of claim 1, further comprising storing at leastsome of said first digital audio information for later download.
 16. Anaudio sharing network comprising: a first playback system comprising: afirst wireless transceiver; and a first control system for said wirelesstransceiver adapted to control transmission of a first audio signal anda first dataset associated with said first audio signal; and a secondplayback system comprising: a second wireless transceiver; and a secondcontrol system for said second wireless transceiver adapted to controlreception and playback of said first audio signal and display of atleast some of said first dataset.
 17. The network of claim 16, whereinsaid second control system is adapted to allow a user to rebroadcastsaid first audio signal and said first dataset to a third playbacksystem.
 18. The network of claim 16, wherein said first audio signal andsaid first dataset are encoded, thereby creating a closed network. 19.The network of claim 16, wherein said first audio signal and said firstdataset are encrypted before transmission, thereby generating a firstencrypted audio signal and a first encrypted dataset.
 20. A deviceperipheral comprising: a controller; a transceiver controllable by thecontroller for performing a signaling operation, the signaling operationbeing one of receiving reception signals, transmitting transmissionsignals and simultaneously receiving the reception signals andtransmitting the transmission signals; a device interface couplable to adevice for communicating the controller with the device, the controllerfor performing a communication operation via the device interface, thecommunication operation being one of transmitting first dataset to thedevice, receiving second dataset from the device and simultaneouslyreceiving first dataset from and transmitting second dataset to thedevice, each of the first and second dataset comprises at least a mediadata and digital information, wherein the controller is operable for oneof simultaneous and separate performance of the signaling operation andthe communication operation, the reception signals carrying and beingconvertible into one of a third dataset and the first dataset, and thetransmission signals carrying and being converted from one of the firstdataset, the second dataset, the third dataset and a fourth dataset,wherein each of the first dataset, the second dataset, the third datasetand a fourth dataset comprises at least one of a media data and digitalinformation being at least one of indicative and descriptive of themedia data, the media data comprising at least one of video data, imagedata and audio data.
 21. The device peripheral of claim 20, wherein thesecond dataset is derived from the first dataset.
 22. The deviceperipheral of claim 20, further comprises a user interface fordisplaying the digital information.
 23. The device peripheral of claim20, wherein the digital information comprises a title of the media data.24. The device peripheral of claim 20, wherein the digital informationcomprises an artist associated with the media data.
 25. The deviceperipheral of claim 20, wherein the digital information comprises awriter associated with the media data.
 26. The device peripheral ofclaim 20, wherein the digital information comprises a collectionassociated with the media data.
 27. The device peripheral of claim 20,wherein the digital information comprises a genre associated with themedia data.
 28. The device peripheral of claim 20, wherein the digitalinformation comprises a date associated with a commercial release of themedia data.
 29. The device peripheral of claim 20, wherein the digitalinformation comprises an encoding rate associated with the media data.30. The device peripheral of claim 20, wherein the digital informationcomprises a size associated with the media data.
 31. The deviceperipheral of claim 20, wherein the digital information comprises aplaylist associated with the media data.
 32. The device peripheral ofclaim 20, further comprising storing at least some of the informationfor later download.
 33. A device comprising: a controller; a transceivercontrollable by the controller for performing a signaling operation, thesignaling operation being one of receiving reception signals,transmitting transmission signals and simultaneously receiving thereception signals and transmitting the transmission signals; a playbackmodule; and a data interface for communicating the controller with theplayback module, the controller for performing a communication operationvia the data interface, the communication operation being one oftransmitting first dataset to at least one other device, receivingsecond dataset from the at least one other device and simultaneouslyreceiving first dataset from and transmitting second dataset to thedevice, the playback module being operable for playback of one of thefirst dataset and the second dataset, wherein the controller is operablefor one of simultaneous and separate performance of the signalingoperation and the communication operation, the reception signalscarrying and being convertible into one of a third dataset and the firstdataset, and the transmission signals carrying and being converted fromone of the first dataset, the second dataset, the third dataset and afourth dataset, wherein each of the first dataset, the second dataset,the third dataset and a fourth dataset comprises at least one of a mediadata and digital information being at least one of indicative anddescriptive of the media data, the media data comprising at least one ofvideo data, image data and audio data.
 34. The device of claim 33,wherein the second dataset is derived from the first dataset.
 35. Thedevice of claim 33, further comprises a user interface for displayingthe digital information.
 36. The device of claim 33, wherein the digitalinformation comprises a title of the media data.
 37. The device of claim33, wherein the digital information comprises an artist associated withthe media data.
 38. The device of claim 33, wherein the digitalinformation comprises a writer associated with the media data.
 39. Thedevice peripheral of claim 33, wherein the digital information comprisesa collection associated with the media data.
 40. The device of claim 33,wherein the digital information comprises a genre associated with themedia data.
 41. The device of claim 33, wherein the digital informationcomprises a date associated with a commercial release of the media data.42. The device of claim 33, wherein the digital information comprises anencoding rate associated with the media data.
 43. The device of claim33, wherein the digital information comprises a size associated with themedia data.
 44. The device of claim 33, wherein the digital informationcomprises a playlist associated with the media data.
 45. The device ofclaim 33, further comprising storing at least some of the informationfor later download.